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Quote of the Day: Democracy
“The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.” — Winston Churchill
Yes, he also said democracy is the worst form of government, except all others, but watching the votes this Tuesday makes me sympathetic to what I chose as a quote today. As H.L. Mencken said: “Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.”
Published in Politics
And there’s that other line. “The people have spoken, and they must be punished.” I think that’s how it goes.
Was he referring to direct democracy?
Sea,
This is a great Churchill quote. However, I think it should be balanced by one of his other great quotes.
“Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.” – Winston Churchill
Regards,
Jim
Ummm . . .
Seawriter
Sea,
Federal employees have the greatest vested interest in left-wing policies that increase the size of the federal workforce. Virginia is an anomaly, not a trend. Of course, it is a testament to just how far people can be corrupted by easy government money in their pocket. None of those folks in Northern Virginia will be on Obamacare. They don’t care how it is destroying the lives of a few hundred million Americans as long as they’ve got theirs.
To hell with Northern Virginia, not Democracy.
Regards,
Jim
The late Edward I. Koch said that. After the horrid David Dinkins defeated him in the NYC Mayoral primary, a reporter asked Koch if he would run as an Independent. Koch replied “No! The people have spoken, and now they must be punished!”
I miss Ed.
One of my friends once said, “You get the government you deserve. And thanks to you idiots and how you vote, I get the government you deserve.”
From The Heritage Foundation, ‘The Constitution and the District of Columbia’:
‘
Maryland and Virginia ceded “ten miles square” on their respective sides of the river, and the government finally moved to its permanent seat in 1800.
In 1846, the Virginia portion of the original territory of Columbia, encompassing Old Town Alexandria and Arlington County, was “retroceded” by Congress to the Commonwealth. The constitutionality of this act has never been determined.’
We all know the federal government should not be the size it has now reached. That, and the above showing how a large part of the community housing the growing bureaucracy is now again part of Virginia has much to do with why Virginia is blue. And that bureaucracy is now so large when government contractors are included that Fairfax and Loudon counties may as well be considered part of DC, the seat of federal government. Many unintended consequences here.
I always thought the formulation for electoral results should be, “The people have chosen their punishment.”
This is the Quote of the Day, and we still have five openings on the November schedule in case any of y’all want to comment on democracy in someone else’s words.
Bob,
How very true.
Regards,
Jim
And yes, Virginia is an anomaly, not a trend.
We should consider giving the District of Columbia voting representation in the House of Representatives by ceding to it from the states of Maryland and Virginia those counties where some significant portion of the voting population is there because of their federal employment. This would not be statehood, thus no Senate representation, since we already have precedents for cessions going back and forth and it could happen again. I see no logical reason the self-sustaining and growing federal bureaucracy should politically control two states of the Union.
If you put back the part of Virginia that was originally included, how close do you get? Extra strong precedent there.
Great quote, Seawriter. When someone says something particularly inane, ignorant, or just plain stupid, my husband will lean over and say to me, “. . . and they vote, too.” I tend to agree.
“Voters…all they gotta be is 18.” – Kevin D. Williamson
Probably less than half, but it would help.
*I* don’t deserve this.
The problem with democracy isn’t so much the fact that majorities (and sometimes pluralities) decide which candidate or ballot proposition wins. The problem is that government has become vested with so much power that majorities (and sometimes pluralities) are effectively empowered to do things that they shouldn’t be able to do. Such things range from oppressive regulation to theft by taxation to the destruction of property rights, freedom of contract, and freedom of association.
Churchill’s quip that democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others, is true only insofar as the power of government is circumscribed to its legitimate functions: the defense of citizens against force and fraud. Elections and law-making should be about who is best qualified to perform those functions. And that’s about it.
Close, but the line from Ghostbusters seems more appropriate: “Choose the form of your destruction”.
See, this is why I like Kevin.
Thank you, Elbridge.
“The best argument for democracy is a five-minute conversation with anyone who argues against it.” — Me
Every organization that has low membership/ voting requirements is open to hijacking. It happens a lot in non profits where all you do is pay $10 and you can vote. If you are a small group who want big impact, it is easier to take over an existing organization than to create one from scratch. It is not uncommon to hear people like the founder of Greenpeace lament the direction of the organization today. Conquests’ law of every organization not explicity right will go left over time.
Thanks, Seawriter.